Feed and discharge arrangement for conveyers



June 29, 1943. K. E. BEMIS FEED AND DISCHARGE ARRANGEMENT FOR CONVEYERS Filed Dec. 7, 1942 QNR y n W W. i n QM E Q o 0 mm R f R w m 2% w W R Em. k k N\ w b m mvxa \W o m R k 0 3 MNQ J J A S S \w my 0 3 Patented June 29, 1943 FEED AND DISCHARGE ARRANGEMENT FOR CONVEYERS Kenneth E. Bemis, Oakland, Calif.

Application December 7, 1942, Serial No. 468,322

2 Claims.

This invention, a feeding arrangement for cooking and baking machines is an improvement over the feeding arrangement disclosed in my Patent No. 2,138,813, issued December 6, 1939, insofar as compactness and simplicity are concerned, and where a lesser capacity is required. This new feeding arrangement is applicable to other type of devices and for other processes and isequally suited for use in connection with the Baking and cooking oven disclosed in my Patent No. 2,168,391, issued August 8, 1939.

This new feeding arrangement operates by gravity for both, feed and discharge, and is arranged to selectively feed carriers or receptacles to a conveyer.

The objects and advantages of the invention are as follows:

First, to provide a feed and discharge arrangement for automatically feeding and discharging carriers to a conveyer or therefrom through the influence of gravity.

Second, to provide an arrangement of the type mentioned in which means is included for selective release of carriers for feeding to the conveyer.

In describing the invention reference will be made to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a side sectional elevation through the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1 with the front paneling removed to show the interior arrangement.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing the carrier supporting arrangement.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing a modiflcation of the feeding arrangement.

The invention consists of a treating chamber, such as the oven In which is illustrated in the type disclosed in the previously mentioned patents and which includes the front, rear and side oven walls ll, l2, l3 and [4, between the front and rear walls I l and I2 of which is located a bafile l5 which divides the oven into two zones of different temperatures, and which extends from a point spaced below the top of the oven to permit transfer and circulation of heat from one side of the baflle to the other. The bottom I6 of the baffle is located above the lower end I! of the opening into the oven to form a circulatory path l8 of the air confined within the oven, circulation being induced thermally through the medium of the heating units l9 and 20 which are located in only one of the paths formed by the baffle.

A conveyer 2| operates about a tail pulley or sprocket 22 and over a suitable head pulley or sprocket (not shown). The belt or chain 2| is provided with suitable carrier attachments such as the projecting pins 23 which may be of any suitable form, with or without the heads illustrated. A suitable motor 24 with gear reduction is provided for driving the conveyer, as through the belt 25.

The carriers consist of suitable receptacles such as those disclosed in the previously mentioned patents and in my Patent 2,169,390, issued August 8, 1939, or is illustrated, in which the carrier is formed with front and back and indicated at 26, the front and back being hinged together as indicated at 21 and provided with suitable latch or clip 28 to keep the carrier closed; this particular carrier being specifically adapted to the processing of meats.

Projecting from each side of the carrier is an arm 29 which is bent down as indicated at 30, this depending portion being slotted as indicated at 3| to suitably cooperate with the pins 23.

The feeding arrangement consists of a pair of rails 32 and 33 which are suitably supported by the housing as indicated at 34 and 35; these rails being suitably inclined to gravitationally feed the carriers 26 to the conveyer and being suitably spaced to support the carriers by the horizontal portions of the arms and to clear the pins 23.

The discharging arrangement consists of the rails 36 and 31 which are spaced and mounted similarly to the feed rails with the exception that the feed rails feed to the strand 38 of the conveyer while the discharge rails receive the car riers from the strand 39 and therefore extend back at least as far as the rear strand 39.

With this arrangement, the carriers when placed upon the feed rails 32 and 33, slide down against the stop 40 as indicated at 4| and are picked up by the next approaching pin 42 and are carried up and about the circulatory path and back down to the discharge rails as indicated at 43 on which they are deposited, and as soon as the pins 23 move below the lower edge of the prong 44, the carrier is released and slides down the discharge rails and comes to rest on the horizontal portion 45, the depending members 30 functioning as guards to keep the carrier on the rails.

When meats and other foods are being cooked, it is desirable that the operator should know when a cooking operation is completed. For this purpose a signal is provided which includes a trigger 46 which hangs in the path of discharged carriers in such a position that when a discharged carrier slides down the discharge rails, the trigger is lifted thereby.

This trigger is pivoted on the sprocket shaft 41 as indicated at 48 and has an arm 49 which projects forwardly and is bent at right angles at its end which projects into the side housing through a suitable slot (not shown because the inner wall is broken away to show the interior structure) This arm 49 rests on one leg of aswitch 5! which is normally urged to close, the weight of the arm normally keeping the switch open. The switch is illustrated in its simplest form and has its respective terminals connected to a signalling device such as a bell 52, through the conductor 53 thence to one side 54 of a source of potential through the conductor 55, and, to the other side 56 of the source through the conductor 51.

When the arm 49 rests on the switch the contact is broken between the upper and lower terminals '58 and 59. When a carrier slides under and lifts the trigger 45, the arm 49 is raised and frees the terminal 59 which through its inherent urgence closes contact with the terminal 53 and thus completes the circuit to the signal creating a brief alarm, the trigger being released and per mitting the arm to again open the switch when the carrier has passed out from under the trigger.

This trigger and arm coincidently form a safety device. There is a possibility that a carrier might slide too slowly down the discharge rails and consequently might be picked up again by the pins and started back through the circuit. To avoid the possibility of damage to the machine, or the doubling of the processing, another switch '60 is mounted in cooperative relation to the arm 49. This switch, similarly to the switch 5|, is normally closed through its own urgence.

This switch 6|] has its terminals connected respectively through conductor 6| to the one side 56 of the source of potential, and, through conductor 62 to the motor 24 and thence through conductor 63, motor control switch 64 and conductor 55, to the other side 54 of the source of potential.

If the trigger is raised only by the carrier sliding down the discharge rails, switch 5| is closed to provide the brief alarm, but if the carrier is picked up again by the conveyor, obviously the trigger is lifted higher as is also the arm 49, and the projection 56 reaches the upper terminal 5! breaking contact through the switch, breaking the circuit to the motor and stopping the conveyer, while the switch 5| remain closed to J sound a continuous alarm.

To guard against interference between successive carriers and to assure feeding of only one carrier at a time, a selective arrangement is provided in the form of an escapement, and consists of a stop comprising plungers 68 which are slidably mounted as indicated, and the lower ends of which are in engaging relation to the pins or carrier attachments approaching the pickup position of the carriers, indicated at 4|.

This stop has depending tongues 69 which engage and retain a carrier 19 deposited on the feed rails. The next following carrier attachments 1| engage the lower ends 12 of the plungers, raising the stop and releasing the carrier to slide down to the position 4| where it is picked up by the attachment 1|; the plungers dropping back to the position shown when the attachments have lost contact with them.

The selective arrangement in its simplest form consists of an escapement comprising levers 13 which are pivoted to the side housings as indicated at 14 and connected to the plungers 58 by links as indicated at 15. A stop element 75 is carried by the front ends of these levers, and this stop element has depending tongues H for engaging the next following carrier 18.

When the plungers 68 are raised by the attachments on the conveyer, the lever 13 is tilted, bringing the tongues 71 in obstructing relation to the second carrier 68, and a slight further lift of the plungers clears the tongues 59 from the first carrier l0 which slides down the rails to the position 4 After the attachments have released the plungers, the plungers drop back to their original positions and lift the tongues ll to release the second carrier 18 which slides down into cooperation with the tongues 59.

The modification illustrated in Fig. 4 is specifically designed for installation and use where meat is to be cooked directly upon removal from the refrigerator, and consists of an upwardly inclined support 79 which may consist of rails similar to rails 32 and 53, except inclined upwardly toward the conveyer, and which support is capable of supporting only one carrier T9 at a time, as shown. Side arms 8|! project upwardly from each side of the support for supporting the carrier deposited thereon by cooperation with arms 29 while clearing the pins 23 or 42 as they travel upwardly, These side arms constitute centering devices for locating the carrier in suitable position to be picked up by the approaching pins 42, with the depending portions 8| or 30 of the arms 29 in the path of travel of the pins 42 for pickup thereby.

The long fingers 8| prevent incorrect operation, since if the carrier 16 is inverted, the pins 412 will merely lift the upper end of the carrier by cooperation with the outside edge of the depending portion SI of th arm 29, slide past, and permit the carrier to drop back to its original position. This longer finger also assures pickup of the carrier when the carrier is properly placed on the support because, as the pin reaches the portion 3|! and lifts the high end of the carrier, it falls into the slot between the long and short legs of this depending portion 39 of the arm 29 to form a perfect support.

I claim: 7

1. In a heating oven having a pair of spaced, vertically traveling conveyer chains each having inwardly projecting carrier pins, and carriers each having a spanning member with an ear projecting from each end and terminating at the outer ends in depending portions for cooperation with said pins for transportation of the carriers through the oven: feeding means for selectively feeding said carriers to said chains comprising; a pair of downwardly inclined rails internally spaced a distance slightly clearing the sides of the carriers when the carriers are suspended thereon and therebetween, and externally clearing said pins, and the depending portions of said ears with the rails functioning as guides and retainers between the sides of the carriers and said depending portions to keep the carriers on the rails, and including stop means normally stopping and retaining all carriers against deiivery down said inclined rails and including means extending into the path of travel of said pins and actuated thereby to release a first carrier for delivery down the inclined rails and simultaneously stop and retain all following carriers until said first carrier has passed beyond the range of said stop means; said stop means comprising, a first U-shaped member with the depending legs thereof spanning the rails and slidably mounted in downwardly inclined position with the ends of the legs normally located in the path of travel of said pins and with the cross-member of said first U- shaped member normally located in the path of carriers supported at the upper end of the rails and functioning as a stop therefor; a second U- shaped member having its cross-member spanning said rails and located in advance of the cross-member of said first U-shaped member at a distance substantially equal to the width of the spanning member of the carrier and normally clearing said carriers and actuated by said first U-shaped member for moving said cross-member of said second U-shaped member into stop and retaining position for following carriers when said cross-member of said first U-shaped memher is moved out of stop and retaining relation to the first carrier.

2. Feeding means for feeding suspended carriers to a pair of vertically traveling conveyer chains having inwardly projecting pins, comprising; a pair of downwardly inclined rails terminating at the lower ends in an upwardly projecting stop for stopping the carriers for pickup by said pins; a U-shaped stop member having its cross-member located above said rails in obstructing relation to carriers suspended on said rails and having the legs slidably mounted and downwardly inclined with the ends of the legs in cooperative relation to said pins and actuated thereby to move said cross-member out of 0bstructing relation to the carriers; a second U- shaped member having its cross-member in advance of said cross-member of said first-mentioned U-shaped member and normally out of obstructing relation to said carriers and located to cooperate with the second one of a series of carriers suspended on said rails and having its legs intermediately pivoted and the ends of the legs connected to the legs of the first-mentioned U-shaped member for moving the cross-member of the second U-shaped member into obstructing relation to the second one of a series of carriers when pins on the conveyer move the cross-member of the first mentioned U-shaped member out of obstructing relation to the first carrier, said U-shaped members returning to their original positions through gravitational influence when said pins pass beyond and release the legs of the first-mentioned U-shaped member during travel of the conveyer chains.

KENNETH E. BEMIS. 

